For over twenty years, beverages such as beer and soft drinks, have been packaged in aluminum cans. Typically, aluminum beverage cans include a tab opener, also known as a convenience opener, which permits a consumer to open the can without a separate can opener. These types of tab openers include a score line formed in the can end and a tab riveted to the can end for breaking open the score line. Although this type of opener is almost universally employed by the beverage industry, there are some problems associated with its use.
One problem is the cost associated with manufacturing cans having a tab opener. The tab openers are complicated mechanisms which require specialized manufacturing processes such as scoring, embossing and riveting. In addition, the tab openers are formed of expensive materials (e.g., aluminum) and require the can end to be formed with a thicker gage of material. Packaging and shipping costs for cans with tab openers are also higher because the tab opener adds volume to the can without increasing its fluid capacity.
Another problem with tab openers is their detrimental effect on the environment. In particular, the tab portion of a tab opener is often broken away from the can by the consumer and is a major source of litter. Additionally, the increased energy, materials and waste associated with the manufacture and shipping of cans with tab openers has an adverse impact on the environment. The tab openers can also be difficult to use and often break the fingernails of the consumer. Furthermore, the scored opening for a tab opener does not pour smoothly, and can make drinking from the can difficult.
Because of these and other problems associated with beverage cans having tab openers, some beverage manufacturers are considering a return to solid end cans that require a separate can opener to open. Typically, these can openers include a handle, a lug for engaging the can seam and a pointed cutter for piercing the solid end of a metal can. This type of can opener is also known as a "church key".
In the past church key openers were made of a relatively thick gauge material suitable for opening steel cans. This made the can opener large and cumbersome and inconvenient for the consumer to use and carry. In addition, the pointed cutter of the church key opener makes the opener difficult to carry in a pocket or purse. A good place to carry this type of can opener is in a fishing tackle box but you can't fish all of the time. Moreover, the cutter is exposed at all times and is a potential source of injury to a consumer and to any items that come in contact with the cutter.
In view of the problems associated with tab openers and with using conventional can openers for metal beverage cans, there is a need in the art for an improved can opener for metal cans. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved can opener and an improved method for opening metal cans having a solid end.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved can opener for beverage cans formed with a cutter that can be extended and locked for piercing a solid can end and then folded and protected for transport and storage.
It is further object of the present invention to provide an improved can opener with a novel folding and locking mechanism for the cutter.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved can opener that is inexpensive to manufacture, lightweight, compact, easy to carry on a key chain, safe to use and effective for opening metal cans.
Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds.